Early morning fire destroys home on Wabash Avenue

A house fire on Wabash Avenue this morning completely destroyed a home and threatened surrounding structures.

The call came in just after 6 a.m. of a structure fire at 903 Wabash Avenue, just off of Sky Farm near the city’s Cedar Hill Cemetery. Three fire fighting units were called in including Engine 6, Engine 7 and Ladder 3.

The home at 903 Wabash is fully engulfed in flames as firefighters from the Vicksburg Fire Department suit up.

It wasn’t enough. Engines 6 and 7 were putting water on the fire when the supply of water stopped.

A Vicksburg police officer helps to keep neighbors safe from the fire.

Firefighters backed away from the intense heat of the fire until they could restore water to the hydrants. The heat from the fire caused the home at 907 to take on damage to its siding, and smoke was seen coming off the home. Chief Craig Danczyk arrived on scene and called in two more water trucks. That water was used primarily to save the occupied house just north of the now hopeless inferno.

Neighbors were awakened by the sound of the firetrucks and warning alarms to discover that they, too, had no water.

Neighbors watch the fire as they also struggle with no water due to low pressure.

This is not a new problem for the neighborhood. Everyone that was willing to speak with the Vicksburg Daily News said the main hydrant near 901 Wabash had been a problem for at least 20 years. The home at 901 caught fire a few years ago, and the hydrant failed to perform then.

That hydrant sits at the end of the line near the top of a hill. Getting the pressure needed to supply it has been a challenge for some time. One resident, who preferred not to give their name said, “I’m going to City Hall Monday morning. They should have fixed this by now.”

One of the hydrants with no water pressure.

Employees with the city water department were observed checking water supply lines after the fire had completely destroyed the structure.

The occupant of the home was found safe elsewhere in the city around 8:30 a.m.

A picture of Wabash. 901 was destroyed by fire a few years ago. 903 was destroyed this morning. 907 has damage to the home but the homeowner was able to get their truck away before it was too late.

Another resident talked about how a trash fire earlier in the week was too close to the house.

This morning’s fire at 903 Wabash Avenue.

The fire is under investigation.

See our on-site interview with Chief Danczyk on Facebook live. The Vicksburg Daily News will provide more details as they become available.